Teaching

My oldest child baffles me on a regular basis.  She doesn’t think like I do.  She doesn’t act in ways that I can predict.  She doesn’t process information in a way that I can comprehend.

Sometimes that means I am delighted with her creativity.  Seeing some of the things she is able to concoct in that precious mind of hers is amazing to me!  Her ideas are much more unboxed than mine.

There are other times, though, when her way of thinking and doing things causes me a bit of consternation.  As a homeschooling mother, it is my job to make sure she is properly educated.  Not just to state or federal standards, but to God’s standards.  His requirements upon me as a mother can sometimes seem a bit overwhelming when dealing with child who is difficult to teach.

Don’t get me wrong – she’s a very smart child.  But, her learning styles just baffle me, and I wonder at times how I will ever get the information into her!

I imagine that’s true of many parents.  Not just homeschoolers, but anyone who accepts that we are mandated by the Word of God to train up our children in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Some days we just don’t seem to be making headway.  Sometimes they just don’t get it and we don’t know what else to try!

We had just such a series of days recently.

Our problem was a math lesson.  Actually, a series of math lessons.  My sweet girl is very good at math.  She grasps the concepts easily and learns well.  But, her creative spirit gets easily bored with completing her lessons.  A lesson that should take 30 minutes – 45 at the most – sometimes takes her as much as three hours!  And, when it takes that long, it is very obvious that her focus is far from math because she misses so many problems.

And that’s just the problem we’d been having for about four days.  I was at my wit’s end!

So, of course, in my mind the solution is to hammer into her that she should just learn to sit down and complete the lesson, start to finish, and within a certain time frame.  That’s what she’s supposed to do, right?  After all, isn’t that the type of ability society expects?

That’s where the Lord stopped me.

I’m not supposed to be teaching her to follow society’s dictates.  I’m supposed to be teaching her to fall in line with the Word of God.

Now, math is important.  And, if the lessons are not done with timeliness, then we have problems in many, many other aspects of our day and our learning experience, whether related to school or the rest of life.  But, God did not create her to be able to sit and work through a math lesson from start to finish without some sort of diversion.  She’s creative!  She’s energetic!  She’s not easily tied down!

My job is to teach her how to take the personality God gave her and apply it to the demands of life.

That means a lot of help from the Lord to give me ideas on how to help her progress through a math lesson.  And, He’s given me a few ideas and then had to beat me over the head when I create a brand new rut with those ideas.  (I like ruts – I learn best with ruts.  My daughter, on the other hand, breaks down in ruts!)  He’s still showing me how to use those ideas to complement her amazing personality.

What it all boils down to – and what I have to continue to be reminded – is that I am not teaching her math.  I’m teaching her to acquire knowledge.  To chase after understanding.  To hunger for wisdom.  To have a willingness to learn even if it’s something as tedious as math.  To discover ways to learn, even if it means being a little creative and going against the grain of society’s expectations.  And to apply all learning to the glory of God.

And I’m here to tell you, that little reminder from the Lord made an immediate impact on something as menial as our math lesson!